Chronic pancreatitis: treatment and prevention

In this article, we will consider the symptoms and treatment of chronic pancreatitis.

This is a pathology, which is a progressive damage to the pancreas, which is inflammatory in nature and provokes malfunctions of intracretory and exocrine functions. During an exacerbation of a constant form of pathology, some painful sensations appear in the upper peritoneal part and in the hypochondrium on the left, various dyspeptic disorders in the form of nausea, vomiting, heartburn and bloating, yellowing of the skin and sclera can also be observed. After proper diagnosis, treatment of chronic pancreatitis should be initiated, determined individually by the attending physician in each case.

Forms of pathology

This chronic disease is classified according to the severity of its course:

1. Mild severity when exacerbation is observed infrequently (no more than twice a year). Attacks, as a rule, are short-lived, and pains manifest themselves insignificantly, they are very easy to stop. The patient does not lose weight, and exocrine pancreatic functions are preserved, that is, there are no pronounced signs of pathology.
2. Medium severity, when the onset of an attack is observed several times a year, and it proceeds continuously with rather pronounced painful symptoms. In the analysis of feces, an increased content of fats, protein, muscle fibers is noted. The patient's weight may decrease, and exocrine pancreatic function is slightly impaired.
3. Severe course, when the patient has regular and prolonged seizures (more than 5 times a year), accompanied by intense painful sensations and severe symptoms. The patient loses weight significantly, he has attacks of diarrhea and vomiting. Sometimes adverse consequences such as diabetes mellitus, narrowing of the duodenum 12, which is a consequence of an increase in the size of the head of the pancreas, can join.

The treatment of chronic pancreatitis and cholecystitis will be discussed below.

The main causes of the disease

As with the acute form of this pathology, experts consider excessive drinking and cholelithiasis the main causes of the chronic inflammatory process in the pancreas.

Alcohol has a very toxic effect on the parenchyma of this organ, and during the development of cholelithiasis, inflammation occurs due to the passage of infection from the biliary tract through the vessels of the lymphatic system to the pancreas, as well as during the formation of hypertension of the ducts through which bile passes or is thrown into the gland.

Provocative factors

Other important factors that contribute to the occurrence of chronic pancreatitis are:

1. A steady increase in the concentration of calcium ions in the blood.
2. Cystic fibrosis.
3. Abnormally high levels of lipoproteins or lipids.
4. Use of certain medications.
5. Prolonged stasis of the secretion produced by the pancreas.
6. Pancreatitis of an autoimmune nature.
7. Pancreatitis, which is hereditary.
8. Idiopathic pancreatitis, the nature of which has not been established.

The most effective treatments for chronic pancreatitis will be presented in the article.

Symptoms of a pathological condition

Chronic forms of pancreatitis, as a rule, are associated with inflammatory processes in the gland, as well as some structural transformations inside its tissue. Experts believe that the main difference between this form of pathology from acute is the progression of disorders within the organ itself, even when the root cause is eliminated. As a result, the patient may experience signs of exogenous and endogenous insufficiency in the gland.

Thus, the main symptoms of this disease are:

1. The initial stages of the inflammatory process in the body, which lasts about several years. During this period, the symptoms of chronic pancreatitis can either appear or disappear. The next stage of the pathology begins from the time when manifestations of chronic pancreatitis begin to haunt a person regularly.
2. For several years, the patient may complain of painful symptoms in the form of a short-term pain syndrome that bothers him after some time after eating. This discomfort continues, usually from one hour to several days. The place of its concentration is the upper abdomen, and sometimes pain can be felt near the heart or in the lumbar region. In some cases, it is herpes zoster. Its intensity can be reduced by squatting or leaning forward.
3. Discomfort and other unpleasant manifestations of pancreatitis often do not appear spontaneously, but are usually the result of drinking alcohol or fatty and fried foods. In addition, chocolate and coffee can provoke an exacerbation. Such phenomena are due to the fact that the pancreas is not able to simultaneously cope with different types of fats, carbohydrates and proteins, so those patients who try to eat properly, are rarely susceptible to inflammation of the gland.

Associated symptoms

Attacks of pain can be accompanied by such manifestations of pancreatitis as diarrhea, nausea, gag reflex, flatulence, weight loss. Such symptoms do not always disturb the patient, and during therapy, you can quickly eliminate the signs of dyspepsia and continue to lead a familiar lifestyle until the next exacerbation occurs.

If the pathological process becomes permanent, and the patient does not carry out the necessary treatment for chronic pancreatitis, the structure of the gland becomes susceptible to destructive changes. In this case, there are signs of enzyme and hormonal deficiency. The manifestations of dyspepsia are predominantly manifested, which are very unpleasant and disrupt the normal course of human life.

The skin and sclera of such patients gradually acquire a yellowish tint, which disappears if an adequate therapy of pathological disorders in the gland is carried out.

If it is completely atrophied, then the patient may begin to develop such a serious disease as diabetes.

Other symptoms

With some other types of inflammatory processes in the chronic form of pancreatitis in the gland, the following symptoms occur:

1. It is asymptomatic when, over an extended period of time, the patient does not realize that he has this disease.
2. Dyspeptic inflammation - a person has the main symptoms of the disease: diarrhea, flatulence, weight loss, etc.
3. Painful inflammation, when a person suffers from severe pain, which occurs, as a rule, after eating food or alcohol.
4. Pseudotumor inflammatory processes, which are characterized by symptoms very similar to oncological processes in the pancreas, but, in addition, a person has yellowness of the skin and sclera.

A complete diagnosis and treatment of chronic pancreatitis in adults can be carried out after consultation with a specialist gastroenterologist.

Complications of pathology

These include:

1. Pancreatic abscess.
2. The formation of false cysts.
3. Pancreatic necrosis, when the process of necrosis of the gland tissue begins.
4. Pulmonary complications.
5. Pancreatogenic ascites.
6. Fatal outcome.
7. Diabetes.

When complications occur, the nature of the manifestations of the disease changes: the localization and intensity of the pain syndrome often changes, while the pain can become constant.

Pathology diagnostics

Therapeutic techniques aimed at eliminating the symptoms and causes of the chronic type of the disease follow after passing certain diagnostic measures, which include:

1. Determining the presence of changes in the content of elastase in the urine is the main method of clinical research for inflammation of the pancreas.
2. Determination of steatorrhea, that is, the presence of undigested fat in feces.
3. Conducting special research tests for stimulation of the gland.
4. Ultrasonography.
5. CT scan.
6. Blood tests for glucose and testing for susceptibility to it.

The sooner a person receives qualified help, the faster the process of treatment of the disease begins and it will be most effective.

The most reliable data on the detection of pancreatitis and its varieties are obtained using a complete examination of the patient's body. When diagnosing this disease, the following stages can be distinguished:

1. Assessment of the main clinical manifestations of the disease.
2. The study of biochemical parameters.
3. Conducting specific enzymatic tests.
4. Instrumental research techniques.

Instrumental diagnostics includes:

1. Ultrasound of organs located in the abdominal cavity. Using this method, you can detect the presence of stones in the ducts, as well as the degree of pancreatic enlargement.
2. Radiodiagnosis, which establishes the presence of paresis of the intestine, as well as atelectasis (subsidence of the lungs) and the presence of effusion in the pleural cavity.
3. Gastroduodenoscopic method, which reveals swelling of the stomach and duodenum.
4. Angiography, through which structural and functional changes in the functioning of blood vessels are detected, as well as deformed and displaced arteries.

Treatment of chronic pancreatitis

In acute inflammation, treatment is possible only in a hospital, while chronic types of this disease can be treated on an outpatient basis.

As a rule, this type of pathology is characterized by the occurrence of acute attacks, accompanied by intolerable pain.

If the pain is very intense, the specialist can prescribe the use of certain antispasmodics to the patient (Drotaverin, No-Shpa), which significantly reduce or completely eliminate pain.

Attacks are often removed in a hospital, where conservative methods of treating chronic pancreatitis are usually used.

Medicines

Drug therapy, which is used to eliminate the symptoms of a chronic type of disease at home, includes the use of the following drugs:

1. When frequent attacks of vomiting occur, medications are used to normalize the water-salt balance (Sodium Chloride solution).
2. To restore the disturbed gastrointestinal tract, some enzyme medications are taken that can replace the missing enzymes of the gland during the disease: Pancreatin, Creon, Festal.
3. Therapy with vitamins. In the treatment of chronic types of pancreatitis, the additional use of vitamins A, C, E, D, K, as well as group B is prescribed. In addition, cocarboxylase and lipoic acid are prescribed.
4. Parenteral nutrition with the use of medications "Alvezin", "Alveein", "Aminosol".

Preparations for the treatment of chronic pancreatitis should be selected by a doctor. Treatment of this disease, which proceeds in a chronic form, involves adhering to a special diet, the use of pain medications, vitamins, enzymes, and the prevention of diabetes and some other endocrine disorders.

Surgical treatment of pathology

Surgical treatment of chronic pancreatitis is required in case of a spilled inflammatory process in the peritoneum, with purulent complications, growing jaundice and destruction of the ducts and gall bladder.

Operations may be:

1. Emergency, which are carried out at the beginning of the development of the disease. Patients with peritonitis caused by enzymes and with acute pancreatitis due to blockage of the duodenum are urgently operated on.
2. Planned, which are carried out after an acute process in the pancreas. Before surgery, the patient should be carefully examined to identify concomitant diseases that may interfere with the course of the surgical procedure.

Treatment of chronic pancreatitis with folk remedies

Herbal therapy can be considered as an adjuvant in the complex treatment with medicines, which is prescribed by a specialist and is combined with a diet. Pain during the exacerbation is eliminated, swelling is removed and the process of inflammation decreases.

The duration of alternative treatment of chronic pancreatitis is an average of 1-2 months.

A fairly popular collection of the following ingredients:

• garden dill - 30 g;
• Chamomile officinalis - 10 g;
• peppermint - 30 g;
• blood red hawthorn - 20 g;
• immortelle sand - 20 g.

Dry harvest is crushed. 2 tbsp. l pour 2 cups boiling water, insist for a couple of hours. Take half a cup after meals up to 3 times a day. The collection is antispasmodic, anesthetic, antimicrobial, tranquilizing and choleretic.

The treatment of chronic pancreatitis at home should be monitored by a doctor.

There is another very effective folk remedy:

• calamus root and dandelion - 50 g each;
• thyme, hop cones, nettle roots - 25 g each;

Mix everything and to 5 tbsp. l mass add 0.2 kg of honey. Take 2 tsp. twice a day for a month.

In treating the symptoms of chronic pancreatitis, diet is of the utmost importance.

Diet

Food is added to the menu that is easily digested, does not excite too much the secretion of gastric juice and at the same time saturates with vitamins. The use of marinades, fatty, fried and spicy foods, strong broths, alcohol is unacceptable. Products from cereals, non-acidic fruits, potatoes, honey are sources of carbohydrates. Low-fat meat and fish are suppliers of protein. Butter provides fat intake.

The treatment process excludes canned foods, smoked meats, fried foods, brown bread, pastries, caffeine, dairy products with high fat content, raw vegetables and fruits, soda, spices, alcohol. Mineral water is acceptable, but neither cold nor carbonated.

So, the main principle of prevention is the observance of a normal diet, quality products and the rejection of alcohol.

We examined the symptoms and treatment of chronic pancreatitis.